HINDI naalarma ang Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) sa ulat hinggil sa umano’y napipintong terror attack sa Pilipinas batay sa babalang ipinalabas kamakailan ng Japanese Foreign Ministry para sa kanilang mamamayang nanunuluyan sa bansa.

Sa kabila nito, walang planong balewalain ng AFP ang mga nasabing report na regular naman anilang bineberipika. Pag-amin pa ni AFP spokesperson Colonel Ramon Zagala, bagamat may banta, nananatili ito sa “moderate level.”

“As of now, we have not received any report. We constantly validate all reports on security matters and it is a continuous process. As per last review our threat level is moderate,” ani ni Zagala.

Sa isang balitang inilabas ng isang pahayagan sa bansang Japan, partikular na binalaan ng Japanese Foreign Ministry ang mga Japanese nationals sa mga bansang Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar at Pilipinas.

Pagtitiyak Zagala na, seryoso nilang tinututukan ang lahat ng ulat na kanilang tinatanggap lalo na at may kaugnayan sa mga bagay na panseguridad lalo na sa terorismo.

“We ensure that all citizens, Filipinos or not, as long as they are within our territory, are protected and kept safe from terrorists’ threats. This is also to underscore the importance of the active participation of the populace in defeating terrorism since security is, after all, everyone’s concern,” dagdag pa ng tagapagsalita ng hukbo.

Maging ang Philippine National Police (PNP), wala pa rin umanong natitisod na impormasyon kaugnay ng babala ng Japanese Foreign Ministry kaugnay ng terror attacks.

“We have not received any report on possible terror attacks as advised by the Japan Foreign Ministry but this does not mean that we would lower our guard on this matter,” wika ni PNP director general Guillermo Eleazar.

Katunayan aniya, tuloy-tuloy ang ginagawa nilang pagmamatyag sa mga mga nakakalap na intelligence reports mula sa kanilang mga local intelligence units at foreign counterparts.

“Noon pa man ay patuloy ang aming intelligence-monitoring especially after the 9/11 attack in the US and the Marawi City incident, at nananatiling maigting ang ating pakikipag-ugnayan sa iba’t-ibang bansa laban sa terorismo through information-sharing and strategic partnership in dealing with terror groups,” sambit pa ng heneral.

“Kasama dito ang pagpapalakas ng ugnayan ng inyong kapulisan sa iba’t-ibang komunidad at stakeholders upang matiyak na hindi tayo malulusutan sa anumang plano ng mga teroristang grupo sa anumang lugar sa ating bansa,” pahabol pa niya.

Ayon naman sa Department of National Defense (DND), maingat nitong isasailalim sa validation ang terrorism advisory ng Japanese Foreign Ministry.

“The DND appreciates and takes cognizance of the recent terrorism advisory issued by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to its citizens who are abroad as reported in several news publications,” ani DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong, sabay giit na lahat ng intelligence report na may kaugnayan sa kaligtasan at seguridad ay dumadaan sa validation process.

Nilinaw pa ng tagapagsalita na simula pa noong maganap ang Marawi Siege, nanatiling nasa pinakamataas na antas ng alerto ang DND at AFP para sa mga posibleng banta ng terorismo.

“We are working closely with other relevant government agencies and instrumentalities such as the Anti-Terrorism Council to continuously monitor and assess terror threats within our borders all year round,” dagdag pa ni Andolong.

Base sa kalatas na inilabas ng embahada, kumpirmado ang nasabing impormasyon subalit hindi na sila nagbigay ng anumang dagdag pang

detalye, bagamat bahagi umano ng nasabing intelligence report ang posibilidad ng isang terror attack gamit ang suicide bombers.

“We confirm that the Japanese government has received information about a possible terror attack, but we cannot give you any detailed background at the moment. In relation to this, we issued a warning to alert Japanese people residing in some Southeast Asian countries, but we cannot disclose the source,” ayon pa sa embahada.

“The DFA has not been officially informed about this matter. Travel alerts for a country’s citizens are usually not officially notified to other countries, however, this type of information may have been shared among intelligence agencies,” pahayag naman ng Department of Foreign Affairs. (JESSE KABEL)